


Small Talk and Cocoa

by junko



Series: Scatter and Howl [39]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Hand Jobs, Hugs, M/M, Premature Ejaculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 20:26:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5219660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Byakuya is finally home from prison and Renji just can't wait....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Small Talk and Cocoa

**Author's Note:**

> If you're not a regular reader and just want to skip to the smut, it starts after the break.

When Renji paused in front of the door to the library, he expected to hear some kind of conversation. Maybe he was the first to arrive? He stuck his head through the door and was surprised to see that not only was Shinobu there, but also Rukia. They were sitting awkwardly around a low table, watching Byakuya shovel food into his mouth. Admittedly, it was a bit weird to see Byakuya eating with that kind of enthusiasm. 

“Whoa, somebody’s hungry,” Renji laughed.

Byakuya paused to slurp the last of the noodles in his mouth, and then blinked, as if coming to out of a deep sleep. His cheeks flushed slightly. Covering his mouth with his hand, he cast his gaze downward. “I’ve been rude.”

“You’re starving. You ain’t had a proper meal in days,” Renji said, plopping down, cross-legged, on the floor in the empty spot directly across from Byakuya. “Should we order more?” Byakuya didn’t seem to know what to say in his embarrassment, so Renji turned to Shinobu, “Can you ring the kitchen? Tell them I’ve been in the practice yard all day and I need double-portions.”

Shinobu nodded. Grateful for a task, he dashed off to find the bell pull.

“No,” Byakuya said quietly. “I shouldn’t gorge myself.”

“Actually, you should,” Renji reminded him. He gave Rukia a nudge with his elbow, “Remember how we were at Academy those first days? Starvation is the same as any injury to spiritual pressure. You got to eat up to fill up. That’s what our instructors told us.”

“I never ate so much in my whole life,” Rukia laughed to remember. “I didn’t even taste it.”

Shinobu came back and resumed his spot. Like Byakuya and Rukia, he sat seiza. “I should have thought ‘three squares’ would be standard in….would be standard fare.” As he stumbled over the words, Shinobu shot a nervous glance at Byakuya. 

Watching this interaction, Renji finally figured out where all the awkward was coming from. It wasn’t just how greedily Byakuya had been eating, but the fact that no one knew how to talk about prison. “If regular meals were part of lock-up, you’d have most of the Rukongai trying to get themselves arrested.”

“Oh, I see,” Shinobu said quietly, thoughtfully. 

“Still, I should’ve thought of that and sent along a food stipend right away,” Renji said.

“I would have refused it,” Byakuya said. “I didn’t want the Division paying for my crime. Given that it is fraternization, having the Gotei pay seemed… ironic, at the very least. Hypocritical, more like.”

“And I couldn’t even garnish your wages, because it turns out we don’t pay you any,” Renji said, helping himself to the bits of soba that remained in the communal tourine. “That was kind of a shock to me--to find out you been donating your captain’s salary to the operating budget--but, I guess that explains why our division doesn’t have the budget crunches some of the others do.”

“It’s tradition when a Kuchiki holds any position in the Sixth,” Byakuya said. “We operated well into the black when my grandfather was captain and my father lieutenant. In fact, we still have an operational surplus from those days. Ginrei was captain of the Sixth for a long time.”

“Will Hirako serve in the Sixth when she returns from Academy?” Shinobu asked.

“If it suits her,” Byakuya said. He cautiously nibbled on a pickled lotus root, clearly conscious of eyes on the way he ate. “I found it easier to be a seated officer elsewhere.” He gave Rukia a nod and added, “Many Kuchiki do well at the Thirteenth.”

“I hear she might chose the Twelfth,” Rukia said. 

“Yikes,” Renji muttered, at the same time that Byakuya said, “At her own peril.”

“It’s a shame there’s no other science division,” Shinobu said. “I know she wants to continue with her metallurgy.”

“She has the resources to continue her interests in her off-duty time,” Byakuya said. “Though I can see how that might be a sub-par solution for someone like Hirako.”

“Does she have to sign on to the Gotei?” Shinobu wondered aloud. “Could she stay at Academy somehow? As an assistant instructor or something?”

That sounded like a neat solution to Renji, but he wondered how the Kuchiki clan would take to having one of the Kuchiki ladies doing something so low class as ‘instructing’ at a public institution, where she’d be rubbing shoulders with all sorts. 

Byakuya seemed to be considering the same thing, and to Renji’s surprise he said, “I don’t see why not, if it’s what she wants. Have you been corresponding with your betrothed? Is this what she desires?”

Shinobu blushed at the word ‘betrothed,’ but nodded. “I have to admit I’ve been actively trying to dissuade her from joining the Twelfth. The information I’ve gathered about Captain Kurotsuchi makes me fear for her life. Bombs! I’ve heard he puts bombs into unsuspecting unseated officers!”

The last time he was over at the Eleventh, Renji had heard something about this from Maki-Maki. Renji’d figured maybe Maki-Maki was making shit up to make himself seem cooler, but it jived with what Shinobu was saying--that Kurotsuchi had detonated some dude in order to try to capture Orihime and Ishida.

Plus, sending a Kuchiki into the hands of Kurotsuchi seemed like a bad idea, given that the captain had recently pickled aunt Masama’s lover. Maybe that was even-stevens for Kurotsuchi, but it wasn’t worth the risk if his desire for revenge ran deeper.

“Captains can run their Divisions as they wish,” Byakuya said. “Head Captain Yamamoto is firm on a captain’s autonomy.”

“Except when it comes to fraternization, apparently,” Rukia muttered, her words sounding just like something Ichigo might say.

“I’m quite certain the Head Captain would have left well enough alone if the Ninth Division hadn’t been witness,” Byakuya said, sneaking another pickle into his mouth. “Their involvement demanded he do something. If he truly cared about fraternization, the Soutaicho would not have allowed Renji to stay under my command.”

“But the Maggot’s Nest, nii-sama, you have to admit that was above and beyond,” Rukia said. “I was hoping that with a new Central 46 things would be… different.”

Renji felt a stab of guilt, but said, “Things are different, Rukia. Aunt Masama and I were able to plead Byakuya’s case and make a change. All we got was stonewalled when we tried to ease your sentence. Believe me, Byakuya tried everything.”

Byakuya nodded. “Of course Central wouldn’t see me, probably because they were already dead, though I didn’t know that at the time. I even tried to pull favors among the noble houses, but…” he turned to Shinobu, “I’d neglected my courtly duties for too long. I found I had very few allies. It seems there was a point to all that frivolous socializing. Had I known, Rukia, I would have attended far more parties and hosted more events.”

“‘Sorry I didn’t party more,’ has to be the weirdest apology I think anyone has ever given me,” Rukia said with a laugh. “But given how much you hate that kind of thing, nii-sama, I know how sincere you are.”

“Indeed,” Byakuya agreed.

A knock at the door announced the arrival of servants bearing a heavy pot of soba. Renji moved out of the way so that they could clear away the old serving dish and set down the new one. They refreshed the pickles and laid out a plate of poached fish, as well.

As soon as everything was settled and the servants had bowed their way out, both Renji and Byakuya said “itadakimasu” as fast as they could before shoveling food into their bowls. Rukia and Shinobu exchanged looks, like maybe they were still a little freaked out by Byakuya’s appetite. But, they both shrugged and joined in. 

For a long time, the only sound anyone made were happy slurps and gulps.

Eventually, conversation started up again, but it was inconsequential talk. Shinobu proved himself excellent at small talk; he knew all sorts of gossip about the world of the Seireitei that didn’t revolve around army life. Apparently, a group of well-to-do ladies that included aunt Masama were considering traveling to the Human World for a local festival known as Saidai-ji Eyo Hadaka Matsuri. Apparently, the draw was naked man flesh. On the third Saturday in February, in a town Renji had never heard of, Okayama City, some thousand or so men stripped down to fundoshi and wrestled over the possession of a hundred lucky willow stick talismans that were tossed into the gathered crowd by Saidai-ji Temple’s priests. Getting one and putting it in the prayer box supposedly gave you good luck for the year. 

After hearing about this, Byakuya let out a little sigh. “Other women Aunt Masama’s age form book clubs or sewing circles. I suppose she’ll want to use the Kuchiki senkaimon.”

Shinobu lifted the corner of his mouth in a little smile, “I heard Captain Ukitake is letting them use his.”

Renji couldn’t help but smile, because he imagined both Ukitake and Kyouraku tagging along for the fun. 

Byakuya shook his head in bewilderment, and then added, “Did I mention that she asked after the Soutaicho’s marital status?”

Rukia snorted sake out her nose.

“Yes,” Byakuya said, handing her a towel. “That was my reaction.”

Renji tried to imagine Yamamoto having sex. Then, he tried desperately to unimagine it, but he couldn’t get the pictures out of his head. “Um, wow, yeah, I would have said ‘confirmed bachelor’ at this point, no?”

“I have no idea,” Byakuya said. “He could be hiding a wife somewhere I suppose.”

“Or wives, considering how old he is,” Rukia pointed out. 

Everyone seemed to be considering that for a long moment before Byakuya quietly said, “You don’t have to be old to out live a wife.”

Rukia looked sad and embarrassed all at once. Renji reached over and gave her knee a comforting squeeze. Byakuya didn’t have to say that; they’d all outlived people they loved. 

Shinobu rescued the conversation again by starting up on how the unexpected frost last week had upped the price of hakusai in the market. The discussion of cabbage prices naturally flowed into reminiscences of favorite hot pot meals they’d all had over the years. Renji recalled a ‘stone’ soup that they’d made in Inuzuri; Byakuya remembered one shared on his birthday with his parents, outdoors, under dark skies and starlight.

When that petered out, Shinobu started in on various upcoming arts events he’d heard about, which ones were recommended, which would likely stink due to poor casting or direction. It was kind of astounding the things Shinobu could talk about with authority, Renji mused. The little heir must spend his entire day listening to the idle chitchat around the estate.

He’d be a hit at those parties Byakuya hated.

Eventually, after the desserts had come and gone, everyone, including Byakuya, had had enough to eat. Renji wasn’t sure if he should assume he was staying the night so he got up with everyone else and headed to the door.

But at the threshold, Renji paused and looked back at Byakuya. His expression was… well, it wasn’t--there was nothing readable on his face at all. Something in that emptiness worried Renji and made him ask, “You want me to stay, Taicho?”

“Only if you wish,” Byakuya said, sounding a little clipped.

“Of course I wish,” Renji smiled, stepping back inside. “I was just trying to respect your space.”

“Am I out of prison because you told the Head Captain I was raped?”

Whoa, that came out of nowhere. Taking a second to compose himself, Renji slid the door to the library closed. They would have to be in the library, of all places. The scene of so many fights. 

“Chill,” Renji said, turning around. “I don’t know what you think, but I didn’t breathe a single word about that to anyone. Truth is, you’re out because your aunt figures it was clan assassins that tried to kill you.”

“It wasn’t,” Byakuya said. He turned his head as if to stare blankly at a wall of books and scrolls. “They were the warden’s minions, I suspect. I think she was trying to flush out Senbonzakura, though to what end, I’m still not sure. I know she’d hoped to pin murder on me so that she could extend my sentence. Soi Fon suggested that the warden was trying to steal zanpakutō because she’d lost touch with her own.”

“That’s horrible,” Renji said, his earlier flash of temper gone as fast as it had erupted. Thinking about losing one’s zanpakutō, his hand automatically dropped to protectively cover Zabimaru. 

“Yes,” Byakuya agreed. 

Renji stood by the door, waiting for Byakuya to say something more. The room was quiet, except for the creak of winter wind around the eaves and the soft sizzle of coals in the fire pit. The room smelled pleasantly of old books and dust. The floor lanterns cast warm yellow pools of light at their feet.

“You shouldn’t say I was raped,” Byakuya said finally. “I wasn’t, not really. It was as simple as it was disgusting. The man rushed me, blindly impaling himself on Senbonzakura in the process. He fell on top of me and spent himself, while he died, against my leg.”

Renji’s gut clenched. Byakuya’s empty, straight-forward description somehow made it all that much more real and visceral. He could picture it all too well. Renji stepped forward wanting to wrap Byakuya in a hug. He got several paces closer before Byakuya’s glare stopped him. He held his arms out for peace, “That… babe, that still counts. That’s sexual assault. I mean, unless it’s important to you that it’s not…?”

Byakuya said nothing, his face immobile. 

Renji was pretty sure that Byakuya’s lack of expression meant he was hurting, so he cautiously took two more steps closer and said, “I really want to hug you. Can I hug you?”

“I hate hugs. I find them unbearably awkward and… useless.”

“Fair,” Renji said. Trying not to sound too disappointed, he let his arms drop.

“I’ll have you know that I don’t need to be coddled.”

“I wasn’t planning on coddling,” Renji smiled lightly. “I was thinking maybe pampering? Or spoiling?”

“I’m plenty spoiled as it is,” Byakuya said dryly, and, Renji noted, with a touch of humor.

“So pampering, it is,” Renji said with a grin. “What do you say to some hot cocoa in bed?”

“I would be amenable to that.”

Renji scratched the top of his head. “So… uh, that’s a yes?”

Byakuya couldn’t quite suppress a smile. “Yes, you big baboon, that’s a yes.”

#

Once upstairs, Renji wasn’t sure what to do. 

Should he snuggle under the covers naked, like usual, or should he put on his cherry blossom robe--so Byakuya wouldn’t have to be confronted with all that… stuff? 

The robe was hanging up in the changing room, which was where Byakuya was at the moment. Renji supposed he could peek his head in and ask, but, after their recent conversation, he’d gotten the impression that the last thing Byakuya wanted was for anyone to treat him with kid gloves over the whole assault business.

So, naked it was 

Renji shucked off his uniform and crawled into bed. As he settled into ‘his side,’ the silk sheets slid up against his naked skin. Gods, he hadn’t realized how much he missed their smooth coolness. 

And the bed smelled right. Renji had been training to the point of exhaustion while Byakuya was away, so that he could collapse into his cot at night and not think about anything beyond sleep. Consequently, his quarters smelled entirely too much of Renji-stink. He could detect his own odor here, but it was softer and mingled with the scent of Byakuya--jasmine, musk, and man.

Renji was going to have to be careful, or just sniffing the pillows was going to turn him on.

Wearing a deep purple sleeping yukata, Byakuya came in carrying a bed-tray with two steaming bowls of hot chocolate. Seeing Renji’s naked upper body seemed to startle him for a moment, but he quickly recovered. Handing the tray over to Renji so he could snuggle in under the covers, Byakuya said, “Your hair is still up.”

“Yeah, well, uh… _should_ I take it down?” 

Byakuya met Renji’s eyes. It seemed obvious that they were talking about sex and whether or not it was going to happen. Byakuya held his gaze steadily for several heartbeats before asking, “Allow me?”

Renji set the tray out of the way. Turning to face Byakuya, he bowed his head a little so Byakuya could reach the tie and said, “Sure.”

Twisting his body, Byakuya leaned in and reached his hands up to tug at the twined cloth that held Renji’s hair back. 

Renji’s nose nearly touched the smooth expanse of Byakuya’s neck. His chin brushed against collarbone, and the ragged ends Byakuya’s cropped hair tickled his lips. The smell of Byakuya’s nearness enveloped him. Byakuya seemed to be struggling to undo the tie, making pectoral muscles jump and shift alluringly where they were visible through the folds of the yukata’s silk. Gods, that peerless, flawless skin--so hard and pale, like stone. Renji had to close his eyes to the sight. His hands fisted into the silk sheets. He bit his lip, fighting down an awkward erection, a kind he hadn’t had since he was a teenager: brought on by nothing more than nearness and the barest touch.

Suddenly, Renji’s hair came free, cascading down, hiding his flushing face.

“There,” Byakuya’s deep voice in his ear. Hot breath sent shivers along Renji’s skin.

Cool hands smoothed the hair from Renji’s face, but Renji didn’t dare lift his head or open his eyes. 

“Renji?” Fingertips urged his chin up.

“Sorry,” Renji managed to say in a husky voice. “I… meant to play it cool, but I guess I missed you more than I realized.”

Byakuya must have noticed the state of him, because he muttered a simple, “Oh.”

Renji kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see the disappointment or horror or revulsion or whatever played across Byakuya’s face at this moment. Renji cursed himself. He knew it was too soon for Byakuya. He should have left and gone back to his own quarters, alone, taken a cold shower or something. His damn eager cock was going to ruin everything, make it impossible for them to get back to normal. “Shit, I’m sorry, I--”

But, Renji never got to finish his apology. Byakuya’s mouth caught up his, silencing his tongue with a full-mouthed kiss. 

Renji opened his eyes in surprise, which only went wider when Byakuya’s hand found its way into his lap to stroke Renji’s silk blanket-covered erection. 

To have Byakuya’s hand there was such a shock, Renji pulled away from the kiss sharply. He gripped Byakuya’s arm to stop him. “What are you doing?” Byakuya’s expression made Renji glance down at the fingers curled around his cock, the sight of which made him shudder with pleasure and he let out a little moan as he said, “I mean, I like... but the hell? This isn’t what we usually do. You never touch me like this.”

“Are you objecting?”

“Uh, not really,” Renji said, hazarding another peek at his lap. Byakuya’s hand had gone still under Renji’s grip, but, as Renji watched, fingers closed around Renji’s cock again, thumb stroking the tip. The effort to hold back a thrust into Byakuya’s hand made his abs clench and unclench. He was pretty sure his fingers were digging deeply into Byakuya’s forearm, given the grip his other fist had wrapped around the sheets. With shaking muscles, he managed to let go of Byakuya’s arm. “Yeah--no, no objections whatsoever… but, Taicho… I… you… what the fuck?”

“Perhaps I wish to change the dynamic of our relationship.”

“Okay, yay,” Renji said somewhat feebly, because the things Byakuya was now freely doing with his hand was short circuiting his ability for coherent thought. “But… I’m so tight… already…. I’m going to come any second and I want you to know I was totally willing to be as tied up as you needed.” That last part came out in a single, rushed breath that was more like a pant than anything else. 

“Noted.”

Renji tilted his head back, unable to resist arching into Byakuya’s pulling strokes. He felt so stupid, reacting this strongly, but seriously what the fuck? Byakuya never, ever touched Renji’s cock--fuck, he barely let Renji touch it himself. The attention was almost unbearable. Every contour of Byakuya’s palm and fingers seemed amplified by the silk, the heat, and the newness of it all. He knew that, despite his best efforts, he was shifting his hips and arching his back like some kind of horny… puppy.

He must have been making a lot of noise, too, because Byakuya’s other hand came up to close over Renji’s mouth, pressing his head back against the wall. Byakuya leaned in to kiss and lick his neck. Byakuya’s hair brushed against collarbone and chest, adding a tickling, feather light sensation to Renji’s already overloaded system. His whole body rocked with a sudden, explosive orgasm. His fists tore the sheets. He might have let out a stifled screaming moan. When it was over, his whole body felt flushed and drenched in sweat.

“Oh my god,” Renji managed to mutter between the fingers clamped over his mouth. “Oh, my fucking gods. Fuck.”

Byakuya’s fingers peeled away from his mouth, but his head was still tucked up under Renji’s tilted neck, kissing the heat from Renji’s skin.

Tentatively, Renji put an arm on Byakuya’s back, gently drawing him in closer. Taking the hint, Byakuya curled up against Renji’s chest, fitting himself into Renji’s lap. Absently, Renji stroked Byakuya’s back and waist as he fought to catch his breath.

Even though his whole body felt like a wet noodle, Renji whispered, “What about you?”

Byakuya’s voice was soft and low, but he said firmly, “I’ve changed my mind about the hug. You may hold me awhile.”

Renji wrapped both arms around Byakuya and held him close. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall forward and breathed in the scent of their togetherness. “I’ll hold you as long as you like.”

“Very well then. Forever.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Josey (cestus) for her usual assistance. I would have gotten this out earlier today, but I had to work.


End file.
